Close but Still No Cigar
Honestly, I've hated JMS' run on Superman thus far. I get what he's going for. He's trying to use Superman as a vehicle for philosophical discussions on personal responsibility. All I've seen thus far, however, are a bunch of straw man arguments set up against whatever message JMS wants to get across. The result is a smug set of lectures promoting the specific beliefs of one man: JMS. Without any intelligent or reasonable counter-argument to JMS' philosophies, we have an uneven argument and an incomplete philosophy. I've also found some of the sentimental, Americana scenes he puts into the book to be corny and hollow. Having Superman help a guy fix his truck or eat cheese steaks at a diner reminds me more of superficial political campaigns trying to convince you the candidate is a regular joe just like everyone else than genuine moments of human connection. Finally, "Grounded" has been boring. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those fans who needs an ultra-violent bust-up in each issue to keep me entertained. Yet, JMS' approach of having Superman lecture his way through each problem only to then walk on has left us with no solid story-arc or even back-up characters to rest our hats on. In the end, I've felt the first two and a half issues of "Grounded" to be bad philosophy instead of good story-telling.
That said, issue #703 shows JMS is at least trying to change. The conversation Superman has with Batman (Dick Grayson) finally gives us a reasonable counter-argument to anything that Superman is doing. Bats points out the difference between the safe and predictable world of everyday man and the fantastic, dangerous lives that superheroes have to lead. This acknowledges the kind of sacrifice that has to be made to lead a virtuous life: The loss of leading a normal life. Batman's points seemed to be emphasized by the battle that Superman has with the possessed trucker. The fight does insane damage to Danville, Ohio and sets the sensationalists of the American news-media off on discussing whether Superman should be walking around small town neighborhoods like this. This shows you that you can do the right thing and still effect people negatively. That's usually the truth of things in this world: You can try to do your best for people but if it makes their lives harder in any way they might not thank you for it. I enjoyed seeing this message in practice because it was shown to us in the plot instead of just told to us like all the lectures in the previous issues.
With that and the constant mentions of the New Krypton story, this issue felt like it was written as an answer to all of the "Grounded" critics. People have complained about how he hasn't been dealing with the effects of the New Krypton story, so he goes out of his way to work New Krypton in. There have been complaints over there being no strong counter-arguments to Superman's philosophy so Batman is brought in to provide them. Everyone has been wary over the lack of action in "Grounded" so far, so he dedicates the end of the issue to a super-fight. Superman even tells Batman he's read all the jokes on the Internet about him walking across America. All of this shows me that JMS is at least trying to answer his critics and this issue has read as a better effort to me as a result. However, it also takes "Grounded" away from its established formula. In the first two issues, JMS was trying to make statements on real-world problems like suicide and illegal immigration. In this issue, there's no obvious real-world issue being addressed. There's also very little attempt to make a connection with Cincinnati in the same way he superficially tried to connect with Detroit and Philly. Good, I didn't like how he was doing any of those things. Yet, the fact that JMS has steered clear of doing them in #703 makes me wonder if he's admitting that he was wrong about his early approach or if Cincinnati is just taking a backseat to JMS dealing with his critics. I'm worried that when #704 comes out, we'll forget all of this and go right back to incomplete lectures on why we should be taking more responsibility to fix the status quo.
I'm also still not crazy about his characterization of Superman. The scene in the beginning of #703 with Supes holding the peeping tom by his ankle over the street seemed a bit too dark and harsh for Superman. It's probably fitting that this is when Batman catches up with him because the action is more of a Batman intimidation technique than a Superman strategy and Batman comments as such. However, it is out of character that Superman does it in the first place. I'd feel like Superman would come up with a funnier, more elegant option for dealing with a petty annoyance like a peeping tom (this wasn't a mob boss or serial killer here). I'm also still disappointed that Superman's supporting cast is absent except for a few pages here and there and even when they do appear things seem a bit off. Perry White makes too many secretary murder jokes for a single-page appearance (I'm not sure you're even allowed to say stuff like that at work anymore).
All in all, I liked issue #703 more than any other chapter of "Grounded" thus far but the storytelling is still a bit flat to me. I see JMS starting to plant seeds of an ongoing story-arc, but I'd still like to see more plot and showing rather than telling here. I'd also like to see some of JMS' philosophy and personal responsibility lectures get turned on society at large rather than just the little people. So far I've seen Superman lecture suicidal girls, street pushers, illegal immigrants, and peeping toms. You know, the common folk who are already disenfranchised. Meanwhile he's left the corporate leaders, mobsters, politicians, and dictators alone. I know JMS is trying to show the rest of us how we need to take more responsibility for our lives and actions (and how humble of him to do so), but without acknowledging that we're also heavily put-upon by society at large (and those who end up in charge of it) it really does feel like he's picking on the little guy like everyone else. We need to feel like Superman is on our side too. I'm hoping I'll like "Grounded" more as time goes by. I do see good and intelligent intentions in it, but it needs A LOT more work.
